Voting-machine.



W. I. LAVUSTERER.

vo'rmq MACHINE a sums-snm 2.

,il U

SNERIFF v. R u o C T c E or Dlsv Llszf Irving Mlller Nnyt Signor Fran;

olivi-r Fr-cd Harry Hzn CoNGREssMAN.

Van

Baur Tubbs wm.

Millan Hunk Twilk Haraldwitnesses l converted laws 'l UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM .L mUsTEBEB., or unifsown, NEW Yorin, assIGNon To 'vo'.rmexacmNE comm, or ROCHESTER, new vom; a convencion o1' m Yong.

vo'rrini-imacnnm.l

' specification dummen'. Patented June 13,1911.

Tofall whom itmcy concern: it known that. I, WILLIAM J. LAUS- Tmn, ofJamestown, in the county of Chautauqua and State of New York,'haveinvent 5 ed certain nwand useful Improvements in .VotingfMachineS and Idohereby declaren the'following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference had to the accompanying drawing, fo'

' 10 apartof this -speeilicatlon, and to there terence-numerals markedthereon. ,'11 This inventionrelates more particularly to :a primaryelec-tion lockout attachment whereby'theordinary voting machine can beinto a machine for holding prions under such laws as have been instancefor the hol of prins in Minnesota and lsconsin. ding-'feature of theprima 'election States -is as io o All of the'fea'ndates of each partycontesting in di@ election for the nomination by their party lmust liletheir names as such' Vcaliflitla'teswith*the pro cer and all ofthe'candldates for all of the .oices `uinstthen be printed on ballots, a

Vseparate ballot`Y for the candidates of each' party. -n-eithfer Statethe voter canchoose the' vfor whose"candidates he will 'vote $0 tinprimary election, and having made his clioice he must be restricted tothe candidates of that party and must not' be per- 'f 'milled to 'votefor the candidates of any other party, nor for vany candidates notprinted'on partys-llallot. -In Minnesota the voter must publicly declarehis intention' to thepartyivhecondidates he rshallvotend theelection otlicer must give hun f ofthe .v'otexfs'part..7 and must-*re-v tovongonthat bellotand ventfhim from 0 on any oth'er."' v voted be foldedazrrlfdroppedintt'rthe 50S countingof-it, tt willbe .clad-lion4 op'cerfwhether the hillifitisrs'ictcd-1o 'thefcandkateslqfja InWrsconsin`thefveter!is.eutitledl folkenfit' Seclvtins. QYli-b .Pmi 1.16vote-iemands@ innestate' voter in' with a ballot, .0f -eaeh 0f Y li,illlhejlmarymn :the rivacy'of jtl1'e -thehallotoihisc miceandscpapei-ly designated ofapplication mea amber s, 1905. sex-m mi asian.keep it' secret as to'which j-ixlspectorfs controlling strap orthe d.leckoutfbar. Figa4 7 Aifa leed 111 rate it from the rt and vote itseparately Ain the proper box, while the unvoted ballot must be cast inanother box'.v -If voting machmes are used in the rima'ry elections ofeither of the Statestgey must -correspond to .the .ballot practice abovedescribed, the fnames of all of the candidates of all of the partiesthat the voters of the4 precinct. are entitled to vote on must be placedupon the machine and the machine must then be s o adjusted that thecandidates of .but one rty can be voted on by 'any one voter. Ininnesotawhere 'the voter must declare his intention as to the pa of his choice,the electionoicer must set t e machine accordingly. to permit him tovote for'the candidates of that party'and for none other.` In Wisconsin,however, where the voter is entitled tc arty he is to vote for, themachine must lie .left wholly unlocked so that the voter can start his voting on any of `Vthe parties, but having. to vote on one party, themachine must en 75' prevent him from voting for the candidates of any ofthe other parties. 1

The object ofwrlnly invention isto provide a machine that. meettherequirementsof" the primaryeledsion laws of Wisconsin and Minnesota,especially in theimportant particulars -above pointed out, and in suchotherparticularsas will be described inthe .specicatin and pointed outthe claims.

drawings: Figure 1` 85 portion of the described in the Patent 849,123 toA. J. gillespie and the Patents 793,666 and 820,802 to Lausterer. Figure1* is a front view of a portion of the plate or ballot adapted.foiprimary voting. 2 is a yvertical transverse section of the hne 2-2 ofFig. L Fig. 3. is a -detailof .one of the'lockoutbars. Fig. 4 isfadetail lof the guide for the lockout hara 5 is'fa perspective view ofthe ever, by which the 'lot-king out of vall but the' -1s se"curcdfiiivadvance. Fig. Av6 is; 'a' detail-of the fire link 'conaeeting-netmentheinten 10o group ofstrapsiandthe Y is "a "side velevatiol..` of the.wire link. 8 'is a' perspectivezviw In the accompanying is a rear viewof the lower in connection with this primary election lockout. Fig. 9 isa sideelevation of the compensator with the pivoted side shown in nposition for `inserting the compensator of 5. the interlockin channel.

In eci cation and the accompanying drawing hke numbers refer ,tolikeparts.

In the accompanying diiiwings reference numeral 1 refers to the faceplate of the machine asit is shown in Fig. 2. At the bottom of thisplate is carried the interlocking channel 2 from which project thegroup.- ing pins 3 through suitable interlocking rollers 4 such as areillustrated in the patent to Lausterer No. 793,666. Engaging vwith theseinterlocking rollers are wedges 5 carried by the interlocking` straps 6.These straps `tv, 6 are connected to the usual indica- Vtors (i0V on thefront plate 1 and are slotted at 7 to permit the insertion therethroughof the resetting bar 8. They are also slotted at 9 to provide for theinsertion of the muffling bar 10, and through the same slots arethreaded the wire links'll, one of which is shown in detail in Fig. 6,and in sidc'elevation in Fig. 7. These links may be threaded eachthrough a single strap or a Single link may be threaded through two ormore straps. The lower ends of links 11 are turned up into loops 12which loops may be passed through the slot 13 of the lockout bar 11 andmaybe spread sidewise to engage with the teeth 15, 15 on either side ofsaid slot. Normally a single slot of this sort is provided for each barfor each oice line on the machine, and a single wire link may run fromsaid slot to engage one or more of the interlocking straps of theparticular ofiice line to which that link is assigned. But I may providea plurality of slots in each bar -for each ollice line so that aplurality of the wire links 11 from one ollice line may engage wit-lione har, and this arrangement has some advantages, in that it permitsthe more ready 4 5 transfer of the connections fromindividual strapsfrom one of the lockout bars 14, 19, 20 or 21, to another bar, asdifferent elcc tion ballots may make necessary. It will be noted thatthe connection between theinterlocking straps or rods and the lockoutbars, is a loose one, the upper ends of the links sliding in the slotsso that the bars and stra-ps may move relatively independently. As usualthe indicators are preferably nrranged to be freel Amoved to votedposition or to be restored y the voter if s. mistake is. made, exceptingfor the limitations imposed by the party selecting device, but this maybe reset 1n the manner hereinafter de- 50 scribed if desired. Theselockout bars, the rearmost, onebeing indicated by 14, are each carriedon bell Vcrank levers 15, 15 pivoted at 16, 16, said pivots beingcarried en the up rights 61 at one end andthe bracket 17 at u the otherend. Fnstened to the lower ends of each of the bell cranks 15 are theconnecting bars 1S, 22, 23, 24. The lockout bars cach have a verticalmovement and rocks the long'arms of the bell cranks 15 as they move uward, at the same time the short arms o the bell cranks rock tothe rightuniformly, due to the connection between them of the bars 18,' and inthis way a simultaneous movement of both the lockogt bare and the bars18, 22 23, 241l is-'secnied It 75 win be understood time um bars 19,20nu 21 are similar to the bar 14, except as to the placing of the slots13, and that these bars are cach in turn supported by bell 'cranks 15,to which are connected respectively thc/jm bars 22, 23 and 24. Theintervals between' lugs 15 are alike on all the bars, anch-while thedistance between the centers is the same, they are placedat differentdistances from the end so that the wire links or their loops that areconnected to one bei: will not interfere with the links connected toanother har. When a key is voted anywhere on the key board of themachine its-interlocking strap rises and carries` with it the wire link11, 90 'which in turn vraises the bar 14, 19, 20 or 2l with which it hapens to be connected. '.lhc raising of its lockout bar moves yto theright as is shown in Figs. 1 and 5 the bar 1S, 22, 23 or 24 connectedtherewith. The purpose 95 of myV invention includes means lwhich willprevent-the raising of more than one of these lockout bars, and this iscontrolled in two ways, both of which I will now describe.

Secured lto the bottoni of the machine 25 is a bracket 26 at the righthand end, :i similar bracket 27 at the left hand and. Mounted on eachoftliese brackets for sliding movement is a similar bracket 28, whichbracket has two slots therein 29, 30, through which slots project thesluds'l and 32, which studs are mountedbifhe'brackets 26 and 27. Theslots 29 and 30 and the studs 31 and 32 form guides which limit andcontrol the movement of bracket 28, permitting the bracket 2S to beraised or lowered only to the extent to which the slots can move on thestuds. Mounted on bracket 28 is a leaf spring 33 with two holes therein.llico the bracket is in its lower position the upper hole in the spring33 engages with the stud 32 and locks the bracket 28 in its lowestposition. When, however, it is in its e le vated position, the lowerhole engageswith the' stud 32 and locks it in its up r position. Carriedon the bracket 28 are interlocking pendants 34, in this case three oftheni being shown supported by each bracket swi ng from Athe stud 35,the brackets 26 and at each end of the machine being alike in .all ofthese particulars. `These interlocking ndants 34 when the bracket'28 isin its owestposition swing immediatel over tho lockout bars 14, 19, 20and 21. e lockout bars ne held to s strictly vertical movement 130 areso adjusted that they will center them. selves over the adjacent barsand prevent them. from rising, as long as the raised bar remains 1n itsuplifted position. To release the lockout bars from the control of theseinterlocking pendants, the pendants may be lifted out of the way byraising the brackets 28, 28 which support them, in which case thelockoutbars will be free to rise at both ends. The lockout bars are further controlled vin their movement through the bars 18, 22, 23, and 2.4, and.when the lockout bars are raised, these bars are given an endwiscmovement ton-the right. Plvoted in the side of the machine isl a lever38, thc pivot of -which extends through thecasing and has rigidlyconnected thereto the bracket 39, which bracket has a slot 40thereinjust wide 1 enough to permit one of the bars 18, 22, 23,

or 24 to enter therein by turning the 'ointer on the side ofthe casin tothe num` er desired; the bar indicatct by it will be left free to moveendwisc nndcan be operated by any oneof the keys on the machineconnected toit, but the remaining bars will be held locked. If thepointer is turned to the mark Closed", all of the bars will be locked,and if turned to the mark Open,

.all of the bars will be unlocked. Foruse in ,theWisconsin primaryelections where the voter is not ermitted to announce his partyafliliations, t ie pointer should be left in the open, position duringthe whole of the election, but in thc Minnesota elections where thevoter must announce his party affiliations-,thc pointer must bc placedto indicate lthe party announced before the voter-is permitted to closethe curtain. 1n prn lary clcctions when held under an Australiin ballotlaw, the party levers on the machine are locked out of o ieration. Underthe laws of either of the tutes referred to the voter must Vole for eachcandidate separately.

lt -may be stated, generally, that as there are usually at least twocandidates c0ntend ing for the nomination of eachparty, the

grouping pins 3 between the adjacent olice groups, (which latter usuallyembody one vertical Vrow of indicators only), are re moved andv thesegroups thereby eirtended to include at least two vert-ical rows ofvindicators, and conipensators are employed, so that inthe enlargedgroup thus formed but oneindicator may be moved to voted position. Or,ifthere are several candidates to be nominated, the grouplng pins betweenas many adjacent groups as are lcombined ,arc removed, and a sufficientnumber o compensators inserted so that onl the pro er number of votesmay be in cated 1n t e enlarged group. Ordinarily but two or threeparties will 4put candidates in nomination. The dominant arty willalways have the greatest number of candidates competing with each otherfor nomination, and the minor Ypart-ies will have a correspondinglyfewer number of candidates,

Aanother party line to the Prohibition candidate. If four candidates forCongress are contending for the nomination in the Republican party andbut three party lines are assigned to the Republican party, then thesefour candidates must be placed on two olice lines, the grouping pinsmust bea'djusl'ed to include the interlocking rods of two ollice rows,and a compensator must bel inserted in the interlocking channel toprevent (he voting of more than one key in these Vtwo oflice lines. Ifthe Democratic party has three candidates for the nomina.- tion and hasbut one part line assigned to it, then the candidates for this partymust be spread on three oilice lines, and these same three oflice Alinesmust be included in the group fonCongressmen in the balance of theparties as well. This would necessitate the use of two compensators inthe interlocking channel in this particular grou to prevent the votingof more than one lkcy therein. To permit the ready insertion or removalof these` coml'iensators l have invented a conlpcnsator of the form asshown in Figs. 8 and l). This compensator is ol? the same thickness asun interlocking wedge und has on either side thereof n recess 4l whichcngages the upper part of the interlocking channel 2. The part 42 restsin thc groove of the interlocking" channel in Contact with theinterlocking rollers or with either of1 the interlocking wedges that mayhave been Yotcd adjacent t0 it. This compensator is composed of twopieces one of which Iis piroled on the other and is capable of more mentthereon. I 8 is the larger piece and on it is pirolcd the piece ilshown' in dotted linesl in Fig. i). When thepart 44 is placed in theposition shown in. the dotted line the compensatoican be inserteddirectly into. the channel` 1 koe )ing it rmrallel to the grouping lpinsand rolllcrs so that the part 42 can engage directly with the recess inthc far side of the channel. After which the compensator can be loweredyto posit-ion and then thepartflat The part i3 shown in Fig.

-be turned from the'- dotted line to the Avertical positionmnking theengagement of iecompensator complete. When the inn` chine is convertedfrom )rimary election to ordinary election all t ese compensutors'liiiistl be removed trom the channel, the racltets 28 must be laced intheir elevated pg itioi'i and the indicating pointer 38 must g placedVin its Open position. The grouping pins, of course, -should be placed'nil-position corresponding to the ticket to be -1Qt-diand these changeswill constitute all mischenges that are necessary to convert the.michine from its use in a primary election toeits use in un ordinaryelection.. By re- .'ersing the process modified according to theiieedsof the primary election the matbiiie is equally capable of beingchanged beck from the regular election to the priiniiry election.

In Fig. 5 l show a resetting lever 4.5 pivoted so as to engage with thebars' 1S, 22, 23 and 2l mounted so tli'iit. its foi-wurd Aend'. willbeaccessible to a. voter standing 'in front of the machine so that if thevoter has made a inistafle in choosing' the wrong party hecan reet'thelockout bar und start :inem This lever engages in recess 46 in euch ofthe bars 1S, 22, 23 und'fi so that by moving it to the lcft or tethedotted line .position ns shown in Fig. 5, the voter can recall his voteand take a fresh start. The indicator bars 6 ure reset by the resetting-bai' 8 engaging therewith as usual in this typo of machine and thelockout bars 14, 19,"20 und 21 are correspondingly reset by 'brackets50' secured to the main resetting wbar and engaging their upper sides asshown in Fig. l.

.I claim as my invention:

1. The combination in a vot-ing machine, `oa plurality of indicators, aseries of lock'- out bars, 'means for interchangeably connectingsaid'indicators to said lockout bars, thereby controlling saidindicators tliroufvb vhe latter and means operable independent y -.-=ofthe indicators to prevent the operation of other indicators then thosecontrolled by n predetermined bar.

L21 The combination in n voting mnchiiic of :i plurality of indica-tors,n series o/Llockout bars, to whiclibars scid indicatosmoy beinterchangeably connected, interlocking devices Between said lockoutbars for revent- .vii

ing more than one of said bars and tie indicators connected theretooccupying voted position nt the same time, and means operableindependently of the indicators for de terinining which of saidbars canbe placed lin voted position.

.'3. The combination in a voting machine of a. plural y of votingdevices, separate independent movable lockout bars con- "nected tosii-1d devices, and adapted to lie `sinovial-l.edgewise thereby when anyone of comas? the'devices is moved into voted position, and

means reventing more than one of said lockout urs from edgewisemovement.

ll. The combination in a voting machine of aplurality of series of votindevi lockout bars one connected to eac of sai sei-ies und adapted to bemoved when said devices are moved into voted positionz n 'means zidjustable into coperative relation with sind bars to prevent more thanone of.

them from movement, and also adjustable to permit all of said bars tomove.

5. In a voting machine, a combination of voting devices und interlockingmechanism therefor, controlling said 'voting devices by ofliccs, nsupplementary interlock operable by the voting devices and controllingthem by parties, said supplementary interlock being capable of. movementinto and outof operating position at will'.

G. In a voting machine, the combination with :i plurality of series ofvoting devices,` and interlocking mechanism for said voting offices,

devices controllin' the operation by of a supplementalinterlockingdevice o rnhle by the voting devices and control 'in them by parties,and capable of being move into operative relation with the votingdevices .when said niiichiiieis used in primary elections und out ofoperative relation when said machine is used in general `elections.

7. In a voting machine, the combination with a plurality of series ofvoting devices,

with a. plurality of series of indicators, a

plurality of lockout biirs, one for each series and operable tounlocking position by the movement of an indicator in the series, of s.single indicating und locking device oper. able from the exterior of themachine and cooperating with the lockout bars to select aud indicate theparticular bar that can be operated. l l

9. In a voting machine the combination with n. plurality of lockout barsund e plu.

rnlity of voting devices controlled lv each of a resetting bar for said4votingl ovices,

and menus carried by said resetting bar tol positively reset said ockoutbars.

10. In a voting machine, the combination with a plurality of lockoutbars and a series of votin devices controlled b each, of a. resetting rmoving parall p means carried on said resetting bor for resettin saidlockout bars.

11. l. voting madrina?,

thereto, und

iti-fine.

,with a plurality of 1 carried on eaichbiir bar an equal La lngdevicesbetweeii. 1 5 .12. Info voting .vnth a plurnlityo oelring.mechanism preventdccte the particular .bnr that can. be

zt I1 .voting miennetheombinnion If'votin "machine, the

16.- In-s, voting machine thecombination withfa .lockout bar 'and aplnralit of bell cranks having one arm connecte thereto,

of said bellI crank"vr levers, and means for lockingsaidbar againstmovement. A

17'.: n a. voting mach-ine the combination vit'hla plurality ofl bellcranklevers nr-` i'anged in series, sind-a. lockout bar for thebellrcranks -of ,each`seris, said lockout bar bei" connected to one armof the snid bell of'a overning bor for each'loclrout borg-connected tothe other arm ofthe bell the bell cranks.

18. In a. voting machine,`tl1e combination withv a. plurality of seriesof'indicntorsI a .plurality of lockout bars one for each series, o0of'infeims, copernting with and adjustable l todifferent positions tocontrol said bars, a movement to one position operating to lock 'gliof'said bers, into another position to lock l`e xceptingvone,' and intoa third positionl '55 tbffiermit the operation of all of them.

*19. In a 'voting machine, thecombination L'vivfith a 'pliirality of-loclrout bars, and inte-rlockin 'devices therefor limiting the numberof said bars to bev operated, said interlock-A ,tp` ing devices beingcapable of adjustment into `and out of coperative relation 'with saidbars'for the purpose of limiting the.` number of said bars capable ofoperation or l pvel'inittingtheir free movement.

f5 20. Ina voting machine for primary elec-i regi-device operaio *the'combination tion :of more than one of `said .n

gle ndicitting` and lockingi "erdting-fwitlireaidbars to selecty itplurality" of lockout bars und bellwhich said bell.'l

coinbinzitionand .a bellcrgmk 1convfgovornin of 'n ,governingbar'connected to other arms' of occupying u raised or lowered position,A

cranks in each series, and means for moving` ,t in bestemmings-:wim apagina" of p I v avides; grouped .ccording to o ces- ...aind .'ccord toorties means for' re! `ztlie'gngperatiion'1o the devices pfor -ihore unesinglepgrtyfofasinglecontrol- 7o l I p lndependentl of thevtmgd'eyiCeS'. to either select tlie art Whosefmdictorsmay beoperatedandploc' outr those of t the renuiiningA parties, or Vto leeve therdevices of all the parties open peru initting the voter tose'lect inSecre@r theA party -Whose,devices moy be operated.

Iii fa. votiug'l machine the combination Witha' plurelity of series ofvotin devices, f erich. series being devoted to' condi etes' of a 80particular party, of a single means operable to one position to lock thedevices of -all the parties, to another 'to lock all ofthose except ingone, and to a third position to .permit the operation o f any ofthem.-

22. In a voting machine, the combination witlro plurality of series of"indicators, of all plum ity, of lockout bars, one for euchl series, undan interlocking device for'limitin the number ovsaid bars that can beoprzited, said device being capable of oc-l cupying v two positionsone-for' pro erly iny terlocking the bars, and the' 4other gorcompletelydisehgaging said lockout bers. 23. In al 'voting machine interlocking'mechanismftlie combination with a. support ,a frame movable thereon,and a serleso interlocking pendantsI suspended therefrom, sidffrnme withits pendants beingcapable menus-for locking seid frame in either position, and voting devices for coperating with the pendants. u i Y 4 24.In a voting. machine, the combination with voting devices of a 'supportund a. frame mounted slidobly thereon, a stud fastened to said frame,und interlocking pendnnts mounted on said stud yand coperating with thevoting devices.

25. In a voting machine, the combination with voting devices, of nsupport having studs thereon, u sliding frame mounted on the supportengaging with said studs, a stud carried by said frome-4 andinterlocking pendants carried on said stud and adapted.- to coperzitewith the voting devices.

26. VI'n o voting machine the combination with voting devices, of abracket having studs thereon, .a standard having slots-engether. l t 28.lIn a 'voting machine, the combination gaging with said studs und vthesprinlg on 120i with. a grooved interlocking channel, of a. n

collapsible interloekin block engaging therewith capable of col apsingfor insert-ion into and of being spread to engage with the walls of saidchannel.

2 9. In a voting machine, the combination with the interlocking channel,of an interlocking block formed of two pieces pivoted together, one ofsaid pieces engaging with one side of said channel, both oli. saidpieces engaging withthe other side of said channel.

30. In a voting machine lockout, the combinat-ion with a series of barsoperable by the voting devices, of a lever controlling said bars, havinga handle projecting outside the casing'of the voting machine, a slot insaid lever to permit the entrance of one bar only, said lever being'-movable to bring the slot op )osite to each bar in turn, to unlock it.

3l. n a voting machine, the combination with a series of lockout barsoperable by the voting devices, of a lever controlling said bars andhaving a slot t-herein to permit a sin le bar to enter, said lever beingmovable to ring said slot opposite to each bar in turn.

32. In a voting machine, the combination of a series of lockout bars andvoting devices for operating them, of a movable abutment for controllingsaid bars, having a slot therein sufficient to permit the movement ofone bar at a time, said abutment being movable with relation to the barsto unlock each of them or to lock all of them, or to permit freemovement of all of said bars and an indicator connected thereto to showlthe position of said abutment. l

33. The combination in a voting machine of a plurality of series ofvoting devices arranged in office and arty rows extending at an angle toeach 'ot ier, of a plurality of edgewise movable lockout bars oneconnected to each series extending parallel with the party rows andmeansfor preventing the movement of more than one of said bars laterally ofsaid rows.

34. A voting machine adapted for use in general elections, comprising aplurality of individual candidate voting mechanisms,

means for locking out the voting mechanism i anism for said devices, ofa member shiftable to' different extents and operative to lock ont allbut a selected one of saidgroups, whereby the machine may be set forprimary voting. Y

WILLIAM J. LAUSTERER.

Witnesses:

F. F. CHURCH, G. WILLARD RICH.

